


five more minutes (would you spend them with me?)

by skyish



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Forgive Me, Gen, Goodbyes, Iron Man lives, Not A Fix-It, Peter is Tony's salvation, Spoilers, The last fight, Tony Stark Has A Heart, i can't write for this, short and painful, very short piece of writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 15:31:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyish/pseuds/skyish
Summary: (endgame spoilers ahead.)it occurs to him, stones in his possession, that he doesn't have time for one last goodbye.





	five more minutes (would you spend them with me?)

**Author's Note:**

> i am still not over this. it pains my soul to write this, to think about this; i can only imagine the possibilities, had the fight been five minutes longer.

 

blurred silhouettes move so fast around him. the battle is so vivid, so gruesome. he falls, hit, and in the blink of an eye, the boy’s here. Tony’s spaced out, exhausted and the arms helping him standing up are so grounding. it’s a touch he has been longing for. Peter’s here, speaking so fast and so high it leaves him dizzy and choking on air. five years. the boy’s not even a day older, eyes so big, face so young, and Tony doesn’t trust himself not to cry at the sight he used to only see in his dreams. he hugs him, so tight, so desperately. Peter melts in his arms and Tony cannot stop himself from glancing up at the sky in endless gratitude, praying for the boy not to fade in his arms again. it is a matter of seconds, mere seconds, because this war does not allow them any more time, but it is enough for Tony to realize how easy it would be to go back to his life with Peter. how easy it would be to sacrifice everything again, for Peter. perhaps turning back time could be the same as moving forward, if he held the boy hard enough. they part, because they have to, and Tony tries not to show how it breaks his soul. Tony fights. moves as fast and as strong as his body allows him to. he wants to rest.

he wants, wants, _wants._

and with the gauntlet, empty of its stones now in his possession, he hates the second of hesitation he needs to glance at doctor strange, and he tries, _oh god_ he tries so hard not to search for Peter in the crowd.

it occurs to him, stones in his possession, that he doesn't have time for one last goodbye.

"i am iron man," he says, more to convince himself he can do this, he _has_ to do this, than to be witty.

the snap is painful, however, Tony has been in pain for the past five years, so he welcomes it as a blessing.

it spreads, to his fingertips, up to his elbow, to his ear. his vision fades. he didn't expect it to be this fast, he had hoped for five more minutes; enough to see Peter, to tell him, _i did this for you_ , to tell him what he had failed to say on Titan. but history repeats itself and once again, Tony finds himself unable to make a sound. time is running out.

time is always running out. it is a luxury he never had been able to afford and today more than ever, he's just so aware of this fact.

peter is there, and it's not because he sees him that he knows, but because he hears him. his vision has left him, but a soft, shivering voice resonates in his left ear. they stare at each other unblinking and unmoving, and Tony almost believes they're at the centre of the universe, that Peter is the sun that has been returned to his world, circling again around him because he needs him- _he needs him,_ he needs him to be safe _so bad_ it seems like his life has always revolved around him.

that's when he hears him.

"you did it, you did it." _for you, it was always you._ "we won, mr. stark, we won."

Tony hopes Peter can hear him scream his name; hopes Peter knows it all started with a framed picture, with _him._ he welcomed his endgame to give peter infinity. and if only he had more time, five more minutes, he'd tell him just that.

"i'm sorry, tony, i'm so sorry."

five more minutes, if only. if only.

there's a ruffling sound, and Pepper, sweet, understanding Pepper, touches his cheek.

"we'll be okay, you can rest now."

Tony tells himself, as his other senses are falling and air leaves him, that this is not a goodbye. everything’s fine.

there’s a device that has been haunting him for the past five years, that is awaiting Peter, that is his legacy. his five more minutes.

he will always be there, somehow. not as iron man, but as a father, as a husband, as a friend.

they won, indeed.


End file.
